Safety device for electric motor vehicles



C. F. G. SABATTIER.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED act. 5, 1920.

1,409,202. Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

C. F. G. SABATTIER. v SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED ocT, 5, 1920.

1,409,202, Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

s SHEETS-SHEET 2 Fig.6.

Fig.2.

-C. F. G. SABATTIER.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED on. 5, I920.

1,409,202, PaIented Mar. 14,1922.

3 SNEET S$HEET 3.

CHARLES FELIX GEORGES SABATTIER, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC MOTOR VEHICLES. I

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented 313 14, 19,22,

Application filed October 5, 1920. Serial No. 414,904.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, CHARLES FELIX GEORGESSABATTIER, citizen of the Republic of France, residing at Paris, France,have invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Safety Devices forElectric Motor Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

In'electric motor vehicles itLcan happen, that when the driver has lefthis seat an un authorized person, for instance a child, moves thecontrol lever of the motor thereby causing the starting of the engine.

Safety means have already been proposed to prevent such an occurrenceand to effect, upon the driver leaving his seat, the automatic return ofthe control lever to neutral position. Moreover, devices, such asbrakes, short-circuits, throw-out sliding sleeves have been tried formaintaining the control lever or the shaft of the controller to acertain degree in a neutral position as longv as the driver has nottaken his seat in the vehicle.

However, all these devices do not permit the return to neutral vposition, except by means of more orless complicated mechanisms, andbesides, they do not insure an absolute locking of the control lever inthe neutral position, no matter in which direction an unauthorizedperson attempts to move the lever, i. e., either toward a higher speedposition or to reverse the engine.

My present invention consists in an en tirely novel solution of theproblem, comprising a device of a particularly simple construction andcertain in operation so as to insure an absolute locking of the controllever in its neutral position while the driver is absent, no matter inwhich position the driver has left the lever and irrespective of thedirection in which an unauthorized person attemptsto'move the lever. I

' A contrivance according to the present invention is shown by way ofexample on the accompanying drawing, in which v Fig. 1 is a sideelevation of the entire safety contrivance showing in broken lines theposition of the parts when the lever is locked. l

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the drum on the controller shaft. i Fig. 3is a plan of the locking leverthe frame being partly 'in section- Fig. 4is a partial section of the contrivance along the line of Fig. 1'.

Figs. 5 and 6 are plan and end elevation of the returning spring,dismounted.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the fixed bracket against which the lowerspring actuating the locking lever bears.

Fig. 8 is an elevation of a portion of my new device where the operatingrod is moved bya pedal.

.The safety contrivance consists of two groups of elements, one beingcombinations of spring and abutments tending constantly to return thechange-speed or control hand lever to the neutral position whatever thedirection in which it has been displaced, and the other a lockingcontrivance proper automatically lockingthe hand lever in the neutralposition when the driver is not in his place on the vehicle. i v p Thefirst group of elements comprises a change-speed control lever 1.secured'to the spindle 2. On this spindle is keyed a disc 3 provided atits upper portion with an abutment 4, and at its lower portion withsuitably arranged teeth 34 and a sector 5 con taining a notch 33.

v The disc 3 has centrally a sleeve6 coaxial with the spindle 2. p

The abutment 4, the notched sector 5 and the sleeve 6 are arranged onthe disc 3, between this disc and the change-speed lever 1.

A frame 7 of suitable configuration and of which a portion only is shownin Fig. 1, carries the change-speed.spindle2. This frame is providedwith a fixed abutment 8 situated above the abutment 4 of the disc 3 andin proximity thereto. 4

A returning spring 9 is coiled helically around the sleeve 6 and its twostraight ends 10 and 11 are disposed so as to bear in oppositedirections against the two abutments 4 and 8; this spring is shownseparately in Figs. 5 and 6.

The locking contrivance proper comprises a lever 12 pivoted by means ofa pivot 13 on the frame 7 and consisting of a bolt with nutand'lock-nut, the lever-12 being held between the head of the bolt andthe frame.

The locking lever 12 has a rounded end 14, formed with a circularaperture 15 through which passes an operating rod 20, which is integralwith the seat 35 of the driver. Two washers 16 and 17 for the bearing ofrestagainst the rounded portion 14 of t e lever. The washer 16 takes thea helical. spring 18 the other en of which ressure of bears against awasher 19, the upward move= ment of which is limited by a pin 21 fast inthe operating rod 20. The washer 17 bears against another washer 22bymeans of an interposed pin 23 fixed in the operating rod. Against thewasher 22 presses a helical spring 24 which at its other end bearsagainst a Washer 25 resting on a, fixed bracket 26, traversed freely. bythe rod 20, The locking lever 12 has at its other end a rotary. roller28 which engages with the teeth 34 in the peripheryof the disc 3.

Finally a latch 29is provided on the upper portion of the locking'leverin proximity to.

the notched sector 5 of the disc 3, the profile of this latch being suchthat can engage in the notch 33 of the sector.

The device operates as follows: As soon as the driverof the vehicle hastaken his seat 35, the operating rod 20 is automaticallydepressed,either by this rod supporting the seat-itself (Fig. 1), or byit being surmounted by a pedal 36 (Fig. 8) against which the driversfoot is applied. The locking lever 12 then. assumes the position shownin full lines inFig. 1- in which position the latch 29 is disengagedfrom the notch 33 of the sector 5+ The roller 28 bearsagainst the teeth34 ofthe disc 3 holding the same in place, if nosuflicient force isexerted on the disc. V

The driver then rocks the changespeed lever lfin the direction of thearrow 30 of Fig. 4, the lever carrying with it the spindle 2; the disc 3rotates, in thesame direction; in efiect the end 14 of the lever 12being connected to the operating rod 20 by ,an elastic connection canslightly rock about its pivot 13 which permits the disengagement of theroller 28 from'the teeth .34 and thereby the rotation ofthe disc 3.

The abutment 4 participating in the rotation of'the disc 3, moves withit the left end 10 of. the spring 9, the other end 11- bearing againstthe fixed abutment 80f the frame. The returningspring 9 is thus strainedand its pressure tends to cause the abutment 4 to approach the abutment.8 and conserplientl'y to, bring back the control lever. 1 to t eneutral position. I

When the control lever is in front of the desired speed position, the3rd forward speed .Uso

for example, the roller 28 is engagedibetween two adjacent teeth 34; if,then the control' lever is released, at the 3rd speed. position, theentire contrivance is held in place.

The spindle 2, which has turned at the same time as the lever'1,hasactuated the usual electric connections, which have placed the electricmoto in the condition corresponding. to the 3rd speed of the vehicle.

For reverse driving, it is sufficient to operate the control lever 1 inthe reverse direction to the arrowSO. .In such case, the same s qu n e.f transmission of move m;v

abutment 8', whilst the end 11 is moved from r the abutment 8 by themovable abutment 4.

Now; when for-anyreason the driver of the vehicle leaves his place, theoperating rod 20, ceasing to be torceddownwards moves verticallyupwards; the compressed spring 24' extends and bearing against thewasher 25 and the bracket 26, pushes upwards the washers 22 and 17 andthe end14 of the locking lever,v which rocks about the pivot 13 andassumes the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The roller 28,which is subjected to the same oscillation about the pivot 13,disengages from all contact with the disc 3. The disc 3 and consequentlythe abutment v4. become freed, the strained spring-9 immediatelyactuates the abutment 4 and brings it back to exactly beneath thefixed-abutment. 8. The spindle 2, and the control lever 1, rotate in thesame direction and the control lever resumest-he position wherein themovable abutment 4 is exactly beneath the fixed abutment. 8, i. e., theneutral or dead position. i

At the same time the notched sector 5 has participated in the rotarymovement of the disc 3; under the influence-of the up ward thrust of thespring 24, the latch 29 is applied to the lateral surface of the sector5, during the rotation of this sector until the instant when, thecontrol lever being returned. to the neutral position, the ,latch 29finds itself. opposite the notch of'thesector 5 and enters therein; thecontrivanceis thus locked: automatically, the control lever being at theneutral position. I f I Thus, as soon as the driverleaves his place for.any reason, the a control lever returns automatically to the nuetralposition and .is locked thereinj I The safety contrivance describedabove and which forms the subject of my invenf tion has beenshown, bywayof example, to be applied to an electrically driven motor vehicle,but can under similar conditionsbe applied to all kinds of motorvehicles, whatever, the nature: of the driving power .(elec' tricity,internal combustion engine, etc.)

I claim as my inventionsaid lever, a spindle carrying the sameJand aframeportion, of a coiled spring con- .stantly tending to return thesaidlever to its neutral position, a fixed abutment for the one end ofthe said spring, a disc secured to the said spindle and formed withteeth, an

abutment on the said disc for the-other end of the said spring andadapted to co-operate with the said fixed abutment, a notched sectorprovided .on't he said disc, a sleeve coaxial with the said spindle andcarr ing the said coiled spring, the two ends 0 the said spring bearingagainst opposite sides of the said two abutments, a double lever pivotedto the said frame, the one arm of the said lever having an aperture anda spring bearing against said lever arm, an operating rod passingthrough the aperture in the said lever arm, the other lever arm carryinga roller adapted to engage with the teeth in the said disc, and a latchadapted to engage the notch in the said sector in its positioncorresponding to the neutral position of the said control lever, thesaid operating rod being normally held in depressed position by thedriver to counteract the force of the said coiled spring, but releasingthe said spring when being in an elevated position.

2. A combination as s ified' in claim 1, in which the said operatlng rodcarries the seat of the driver, the weight of the latter holding thesaid operating rod in depressed position thereby preventing the saidcoiled spring from moving the said control lever to neutral position.

In testimony whereof, I have aflixed my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

CHARLES FELIX GEORGES SABA'ITIER.

Witnesses:

LOUIS GARDET, CLEMENT S. EDWARDS.

